Donald J. Trump has been a major player on the political
scene for over three years. Therefore, the world has known Trump, the
politician, for some time.
In the light of the
recent racially, culturally and politically inspired criminal attacks against targeted
persons and institutions, it is foolhardy for us to imagine that Donald Trump
will lead the nation in rebuking such actions, except for his usual staff-inspired
robotic teleprompter denunciations. Trump limps through these “robotic” readings
because he does not feel the sentiments he states in his heart. Most of us realize
that Trump is about Trump- period! He has shown that time-and-time again. He is
not a president who represents all of
the people, and that is all there is to
it! Some have said that Trump is not capable of sympathizing or
empathizing with others. I don’t even know if he ever “cries” like the rest of us.
Following the Cesar Sayoc bomb threats directed at former
President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former
President Barack Obama, former Attorney General, Eric Holder, former Vice
President Joe Biden, and others, there have been no personal calls made to them
by President Trump to convey to them the nation’s concern, and to inform them how
the Trump Administration intended to handle the situation.
The recent mass shootings by Robert Bowers (killing
eleven worshippers) at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
reminded me of Nicholas Kristof’s statement in a recent New York Times online
article. It read: “More Americans have
died from guns in the United States since 1968 than on battlefields of all the
wars in American history”. This statement is startling, and you may read
more about it in my article entitled “Gun Violence: In America and Our
Schools”. Yes, we have had gun violence in the USA for many generations.
However, compounding the current problem are the assertions by many citizens
that President Trump continually “stokes the flames” of violence-especially at
his rallies.
Last week in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, a white man named
Gregory Bush tried to enter a predominantly Black church- but the doors were
locked, and he couldn’t get in. He then went to a nearby Kroger store where he
shot and killed a Black man and a Black woman. He bypassed a White person
saying “Whites don’t kill Whites”.
It is fruitless to decry the lack of etiquette and
decorum related to this president. Folks
say, “Let Trump be Trump”. By saying that, they are giving Trump an “etiquette/decorum
pass” that most of American leaders have not gotten. To be frank about it, we have
a crass person in our highest office that lacks the ability to care; and he
demonstrates that on a daily basis. His staff has to hold his hand and walk him
through various sensitive situations in order to keep him “civil” and “in line”.
This sounds more like the handling of an ornery pre-teen schoolboy, than the
leader of the free world.
Trump is well-known for his tendency to continually
prevaricate. His “word” is never his “bond”. God help us if there are
international crises of major proportions when the trustworthiness of all
allies is paramount. Can we expect our allies to trust in him and have faith in
him in such instances? Many have answered- not likely! Again, America has a
history of citizen-on-citizen violence. However, as a concerned citizen, I have no
doubt that Trump’s divisive and incendiary rhetoric may well have added the “fuel to the fire” that resulted in the
recent uncivil acts mentioned in this article.
With the midterms upon us, given today’s tribal political
environment, who will win the day? President Trump has been rigorously
campaigning on the behalf of his party for many days now. Back-to-back campaign
stops has been the recent “order of the day” for Trump, who has predicted a victory
for his Party on Tuesday. He was not more specific as to what “victory” meant
to him. Did he mean a “red” wave? Did he mean several Republican wins? I don’t
know.
Many pundits predict that the Democrats will win the
House and the Republicans will maintain control of the Senate. However, no one
has a crystal ball powerful enough to predict the actual outcome of the
midterms. The most positive thing that voters can do is to make sure they vote.
Like many, I see Trump as a divider of Americans, not a unifier
of Americans. This is very bad for America because we cannot survive as a
country by imploding upon ourselves; in other words, self destructing. That is
why past presidents have endeavored, in earnest, to bring all Americans
together after their election victories. A
unified America is essential to a strong and successful America. Trump is not so blind or uninformed that
he cannot see the benefits of unifying all Americans. Therefore, Trump’s attempts
to do otherwise make his motives suspicious at best. Does he really have
America’s best interests at heart? Why has he not divested himself of his
business interests? Why has he not revealed his tax returns as past presidential
contenders have done? Furthermore, does
Trumpian politics reflect our age-old American values that have stood the “test
of time”, or does Trumpian politics reflect a new era of personal benefit politics that may well result in a more tenuous
future for most Americans? If there is even
a sliver of doubt about Trump’s purpose, his values, or motives, the reasonable
person’s vote should reflect such doubt by voting against Trumpian candidates.
A vote against Trumpian candidates will signal to the world that Trumpian values do not reflect who we are,
and we are not going to further empower him by selecting his slate of Trumpian
puppets that will fearfully cater to his every wish.
Well, I voted on the first day of early voting. If you
haven’t voted, you must get out and vote as if your future depends on it; because,
to a large extent, it does. Trump is not
on the ballot, but a rebuke of Trumpian candidates is an initial step to eventually
“Dump Trump”. Be well, and join me in my hope for a better tomorrow for all Americans.
